Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Mohammad Marandi

Seyed Mohammad Marandi is an Iranian-American academic, intellectual and political analyst. He is closely linked to the Iranian government. In 2024, he was described as a "mouthpiece" of the Iranian government by London-based news source Iran International and as "one of the staunchest defenders of the Islamic Republic in English-language media" by Iranwire.

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Mohammad Marandi
Marandi in 2014
Born (1966-05-14) 14 May 1966
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Citizenship
  • Iran
  • United States
OccupationsProfessor, author, analyst
ParentAlireza Marandi (father)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham (PhD)
ThesisLord Byron, his critics and Orientalism (2003)
Military service
AllegianceIran
Branch
IRGC
Service years
1980–1988

Seyed Mohammad Marandia (born 14 May 1966) is an Iranian-American academic, intellectual and political analyst. He is closely linked to the Iranian government.12 In 2024, he was described as a "mouthpiece" of the Iranian government by London-based news source Iran International13 and as "one of the staunchest defenders of the Islamic Republic in English-language media" by Iranwire.45

He was born in Richmond, Virginia, United States to Alireza Marandi, later the doctor of the second supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei. Mohammad Marandi moved to Iran at the age of 13 when he volunteered to fight in the Iran–Iraq War. Marandi later studied at Birmingham University, England. He currently serves as a professor at the University of Tehran.

Early life and education

Seyed Mohammad Marandi was born on 14 May 1966 in Richmond, Virginia. He is the son of Alireza Marandi, who would later become Iran's Health Minister and doctor of the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.1 Marandi spent the first 13 years of his life in the United States. Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, his family moved to Iran. He volunteered to fight in the Iran–Iraq War during which he said he survived two Iraqi chemical weapons attacks.6

Marandi is a graduate of the University of Tehran and Birmingham University (UK), where his PhD thesis was entitled "Lord Byron, his critics and Orientalism", described as a "response to Edward Said's Orientalism".7

Career

Marandi was the head of the North American Studies program at the University of Tehran;6 he is currently a professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the university.8

Marandi has appeared as a political and social commentator on international news networks such as Channel 4,9 Sky News,1011 PBS, ABC, CGTN, CNN,12 BBC,13 Al Jazeera,14 and RT. He has also contributed opinion pieces to publications such as Al Jazeera,15 Middle East Eye,8 and Tehran Times.16

He is an adviser to the Iranian nuclear negotiations team in Vienna.17 Marandi has close links to the Iranian government.123 Iran International describes him as a "mouthpiece" of the Iranian government.1

Views

Following the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, Marandi wrote:

I won't be shedding tears for a writer who spouts endless hatred & contempt for Muslims & Islam. But is it a coincidence that just when we are on the verge of revitalising the nuclear agreement, America makes claims about an attempted assassination of Bolton and then this happens?.1819

Marandi's statement referred to the United States Department of Justice's allegation that Iran had planned to assassinate US national security advisor John Bolton in 2020.20

Marandi has been noted for not being overly concerned about UN resolutions against Iran. According to a tweet by the Twitter account of reformist daily Shargh posted on 28 December 2021, Marandi stated:

What will happen if the UN resolutions against Iran are revived? We attach no value to the other side's ultimatums, because nothing is going to happen to us even if they pull out of the JCPOA and activate the trigger mechanism.2122

On 1 October 2024, Marandi said on BBC's Today programme, that the Israeli government was a "genocidal regime" that was committing a "holocaust in Gaza", and "believes in ethno-supremacism".23 The Jewish Leadership Council and Simon Schama criticized the comments as antisemitic, while pro-Israeli organization CAMERA described Marandi's comments as "racist rant and redundant claims of 'genocide'."23 The BBC noted that its presenter did challenge Marandi during the interview, but acknowledged that it should have challenged Marandi's language further throughout the interview.23

Following the death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham in July 2026, Marandi said: "It's a shame. I wanted him to see oil prices on Monday before he went to hell."24

Written works

  • "Oppressors and Oppressed Reconsidered: A Shi‘itologic Perspective on the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah’s Outlook on International Relations" (with Raffaele Mauriello) in Islam and International Relations: Contributions to Theory and Practice, Springer, 2015, pp. 50–71.
  • "The Khamenei Doctrine: Iran's Leader on Diplomacy, Foreign Policy and International Relations" (with Raffaele Mauriello) in Islam in International Relations: Politics and Paradigms, Routledge, 2018, pp. 18–38.
See also

See also

Notes

Notes

  1. Persian: محمد مرندی
Sources

Sources

  1. "Ofcom Upholds Iran International Complaint Against Al Jazeera". Iran International. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  2. Patrick Kingsley, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman (25 October 2024). "Updates: Israel Strikes Iran in Retaliatory Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  3. Ghanbarzadeh (10 October 2024). "Who is Mohammad Marandi, Iran's Chief Propagandist in English?". IranWire. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  4. "New Book by Mohammad Marandi and Sandew Hira". mmarandi.com. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  5. Ghanbarzadeh, Illya (10 October 2024). "Who is Mohammad Marandi, Iran's Chief Propagandist in English?". Iranwire. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  6. "Man with a Country". Guernica. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  7. Marandi, Seyed Mohammad (1 January 2003). Lord Byron, His Critics and Orientalism (Thesis). Birmingham: University of Birmingham. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  8. "Seyed Mohammad Marandi". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  9. "Israel vows to 'exact a price' as Iran launches first ever direct attack". Youtube. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  10. "Iran attack a 'major humiliation for Israeli regime' says Iranian professor". Youtube. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  11. "Analysis: Can the world avoid further conflict in the Middle East?". Youtube. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  12. "Fareed Zakaria Interviews Iranian "Regime" Spokesman Professor Mohammed Marandi". Moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  13. "BBC Doha Debate November 9, 2009". Youtube. 15 November 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  14. AlJazeeraEnglish (30 January 2010). "Iranian professor "defends" executions". Youtube. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  15. "Seyed Mohammad Marandi | Al Jazeera News | Today's latest from Al Jazeera". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  16. "Mohammad Marandi". Tehran Times. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  17. Tamara Qiblawi and Mostafa Salem (10 August 2022). "Trump's shadow looms over last ditch effort to revive Iran nuclear deal". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  18. "Salman Rushdie attack: Iranians react with mixture of praise and concern". The Guardian. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  19. "Marandi: Claims on Bolton assassination, Rushdie attack before nuclear agreement odd news". Islamic Republic News Agency. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  20. Rabinowitz, Hannah; Cohen, Marshall; Hansler, Jennifer & Atwood, Kylie (10 August 2022). "US Justice Department charges Iranian with trying to assassinate John Bolton". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  21. "Who Is The Mysterious Man Who Accompanies Iran's Negotiators?". Iran International. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  22. "@SharghDaily". Twitter/X. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  23. Cleave, Iona; Barton, Alex (1 October 2024). "Mishal Husain failed to sufficiently challenge guest over anti-semitic conspiracies, BBC admits". TheTelegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  24. Ari, Lior Ben; Ari, Lior Ben (12 July 2026). "'So sweet I'll read it twice': Iran celebrates Lindsey Graham's death". Ynetglobal. Retrieved 12 July 2026.